BILL NUMBER: AB 2941	CHAPTERED  09/11/00

	CHAPTER   388
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   SEPTEMBER 11, 2000
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR   SEPTEMBER 8, 2000
	PASSED THE SENATE   AUGUST 25, 2000
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY   AUGUST 25, 2000
	AMENDED IN SENATE   AUGUST 22, 2000
	AMENDED IN SENATE   AUGUST 14, 2000
	AMENDED IN SENATE   JUNE 19, 2000
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   MAY 26, 2000
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   MAY 16, 2000
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   MAY 8, 2000

INTRODUCED BY   Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife  (Machado
(Chair), Aanestad, Calderon, Dickerson, Florez, Frusetta, Kuehl,
Margett, Strom-Martin, Thomson, and Wayne)

                        APRIL 6, 2000

   An act to amend Sections 391, 5521.5, 6432, 7072, 7655, 8022,
8101, 8150.5, 8150.7, 8394.5, 8411, 8412, 8550.5, 8552.8, 11019,
12002.3, 12006.6, 12009, and 12157 of, to amend and renumber Section
6439 of, and to repeal Sections 6433, 6434, 6435, 6436, 6437, 6438,
8150.8, 8150.9, 8151, 8152, 8410, 8413, 8414, 8415, and 8664.65 of,
the Fish and Game Code, relating to commercial fishing, and making an
appropriation therefor.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2941, Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife.  Commercial
fishing.
   (1) Existing law requires approval by the Attorney General in
order for the Department of Fish and Game to enter into a reciprocal
agreement with a federal or county agency or an agency in another
state to exchange records and other information regarding those
suspected of a violation of the Fish and Game Code.
   This bill would delete the requirement that the Attorney General
approve those reciprocal agreements.
   (2) Existing provisions of the Fish and Game Code, to be repealed
on January 1, 2004, require the Department of Fish and Game to adopt
prescribed guidelines of the International Maritime Organizations
relating to ship ballast water and sediment discharges.
   This bill would delete this requirement, and instead, would
require the department to work cooperatively with the State Lands
Commission and the State Water Resources Control Board to implement
the Ballast Water Management Program established in the Public
Resources Code, and would make conforming changes.
   (3) Existing law makes it unlawful to take abalone for commercial
purposes in certain areas, as specified.
   This bill would enact a rebuttable presumption that a person who
takes or possesses more than 12 abalone possesses the abalone for
commercial purposes.
   (4) Existing law requires that nominations for the Pacific Fishery
Management Council include representatives from several fisheries,
including the anchovy fishery.
   This bill would replace representation on the council for the
anchovy fishery with representation from the coastal pelagic species
fishery.
   (5) Existing law generally provides that information filed with
the department pursuant to the regulation of commercial fishing is
confidential.
   This bill would permit the department to release this information
to any federal agency responsible for fishery management activities,
to any federal, state or local agency for the purpose of law
enforcement, or pursuant to a court order.
   (6) Existing law provides that sardines may only be taken or
possessed on any vessel in conformance with the permit system
developed by the department, with certain exceptions as specified.
   This bill would delete the exception for sardines taken
incidentally to other fishing operations.
   (7) Existing law requires that the sardine and Pacific mackerel
resource be maintained at certain populations, as specified.
   This bill would repeal various statutory requirements and would,
instead, require that the sardine and Pacific mackerel resource be
managed to maximize sustained harvest, and would require the
department to do so in conformance with the recommendations of the
Pacific Fishery Management Council as adopted by the Secretary of
Commerce.
   (8) Existing law provides for the issuance of permits to take
herring with gill and round haul nets.
   This bill would delete the provision providing for the issuance of
a license to take herring with round haul nets.
   (9) Existing law provides certain penalties for any person
convicted of taking or possessing more than 36 abalone in a specified
area of District 10.
   This bill would make this prohibition applicable statewide, and
would modify the requirement so that it applies to a person who takes
more than 100 abalone in a calendar year, or who possesses more than
12 abalone at one time and in so doing would impose a state-mandated
local program.
   (10) Existing law prescribes various penalties for taking or
possessing abalone in specified areas, including imprisonment in the
county jail for not more than one year.
   This bill would increase the maximum fines associated with abalone
related violations.
   (11) Existing law requires that upon the conviction of a person
for violating, among other things, provisions relating to endangered
or protected species, the judge in the proceeding must order the
forfeiture of any device, apparatus, or automobile used in committing
the offense.
   This bill would authorize a judge to order the forfeiture of those
items in a proceeding where a person is convicted of violating
certain provisions relating to the illegal possession, sale, or
purchase of abalone for commercial purposes.
   (12) The bill would delete obsolete provisions.
   (13) Existing law requires that the proceeds from sales of
forfeited property under certain provisions of the Fish and Game Code
be deposited in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund, a continuously
appropriated fund.
   This bill would make an appropriation by increasing the amount of
fines for violations relating to the taking of abalone.
  (14) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state.  Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund
to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide
and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed
$1,000,000.
   This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
   Appropriation:  yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Section 391 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to
read:
   391.  The department may exchange or release to any appropriate
federal, state, or local agency or agencies in other states, for
purposes of law enforcement, any information collected or maintained
by the department under any provision of this code or any regulation
adopted pursuant to this code.
  SEC. 2.  Section 5521.5 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to
read:
   5521.5.  (a)  In addition to the moratorium imposed by Section
5521, and notwithstanding any other provision of law, it is unlawful
to take abalone for commercial purposes in District 6, 7, 16, 17, or
19A, in District 10 north of Point Lobos, or in District 20 between
Southeast Rock and the extreme westerly end of Santa Catalina Island.

   (b) There shall be a rebuttable presumption, affecting the burden
of producing evidence, that a person who is required to obtain a
license pursuant to Section 7145 and who takes or possesses more than
12 individual abalone possesses the abalone for commercial purposes.

  SEC. 2.1.  Section 6432 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to
read:
   6432.  The department shall work cooperatively with the State
Lands Commission and the State Water Resources Control Board to
implement the Ballast Water Management Program established pursuant
to Division 36 (commencing with Section 71200) of the Public
Resources Code.
  SEC. 2.2.  Section 6433 of the Fish and Game Code is repealed.
  SEC. 2.3.  Section 6434 of the Fish and Game Code is repealed.
  SEC. 2.4.  Section 6435 of the Fish and Game Code is repealed.
  SEC. 2.5.  Section 6436 of the Fish and Game Code is repealed.
  SEC. 2.6.  Section 6437 of the Fish and Game Code is repealed.
  SEC. 2.7.  Section 6438 of the Fish and Game Code is repealed.
  SEC. 2.8.  Section 6439 of the Fish and Game Code is amended and
renumbered to read:
   6433.  This article shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2004, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute
that is enacted before January 1, 2004, deletes or extends that
date.
  SEC. 2.9.  Section 7072 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to
read:
   7072.  (a) Fishery management plans shall form the primary basis
for managing California's sport and commercial marine fisheries.
   (b) Fishery management plans shall be based on the best scientific
information that is available, on other relevant information that
the department possesses, or on such scientific information or other
relevant information that can be obtained without substantially
delaying the preparation of the plan.
   (c) To the extent that conservation and management measures in a
fishery management plan either increase or restrict the overall
harvest in a fishery, fishery management plans shall allocate those
increases or restrictions fairly among recreational and commercial
sectors participating in the fishery.
   (d) Consistent with Article 17 (commencing with Section 8585), the
commission shall adopt a fishery management plan for the nearshore
fishery on or before January 1, 2002, if funds are appropriated for
that purpose in the annual Budget Act or pursuant to any other law.

  SEC. 3.  Section 7655 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:

   7655.  (a) It is the policy of the State of California that the
state be represented on the Pacific Fishery Management Council by
representatives of those fisheries directly subject to the fishery
management plans of the council.  Special emphasis shall be made on
the nominations and appointments to the Pacific Fishery Management
Council for a California commercial salmon troll fisherman.  In
addition to a commercial salmon troll fisherman, in order to assure a
balanced representation on the Pacific Fishery Management Council,
nominations shall also include representatives from the seafood
processing industry, the commercial passenger carrying fishing
industry, the groundfish fishery, and the coastal pelagic species
fishery.
   (b) When the Governor nominates persons for any seat on the
Pacific Fishery Management Council, those individuals shall be
knowledgeable of California's fishery resources and its fishing
industry and needs.  Further, the nominations shall be made after
consultation with fishery organizations whose members are directly
affected by the actions of the council.
  SEC. 4.  Section 8022 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:

   8022.  (a) The receipts, reports, or other records filed with the
department pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 7700) to
Article 7.5 (commencing with Section 8040), inclusive, and the
information contained therein, shall, except as otherwise provided in
this section, be confidential, and the records shall not be public
records.  Insofar as possible, the information contained in the
records shall be compiled or published as summaries, so as not to
disclose the individual record or business of any person.
   (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the department may
release the confidential information described in subdivision (a) to
any federal agency responsible for fishery management activities,
provided the information is used solely for the purposes of enforcing
fishery management provisions and provided the information will
otherwise remain confidential.  The department may also release this
information in accordance with Section 391 or pursuant to a court
order.
  SEC. 4.5.  Section 8101 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to
read:
   8101.  (a) Any licensed fisherman shall be eligible for inclusion
during the initial year of a limited entry fishery which is
established by statute that becomes operative after January 1, 1982,
or by regulation that becomes operative after January 1, 1999,
regardless of the prescribed conditions for entry into the fishery,
if the fisherman presents to the department satisfactory evidence
that he or she has been licensed as a California commercial fisherman
for at least 20 years and has participated in the fishery for at
least one of those 20 years, with qualifying participation in the
fishery to be determined by the commission based on landings or other
appropriate criteria.
   (b) Fishermen who have established eligibility to participate in a
limited entry fishery under this section are subject to conditions
of continuing eligibility established by statute or regulation if
those fishermen desire to maintain their eligibility.
  SEC. 5.  Section 8150.5 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to
read:
   8150.5.  (a) Sardines may not be taken or possessed on any boat,
barge, or vessel except pursuant to Section 8150.7.
   (b) This section does not prohibit the possession or use of
sardines imported into this state under a bill of lading identifying
the country of origin.
   (c) Imported sardines may be used for dead bait under regulations
adopted by the commission.
  SEC. 6.  Section 8150.7 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to
read:
   8150.7.  It is the intent of the Legislature that the sardine
resource be managed with the objective of maximizing the sustained
harvest.  The department shall manage the sardine resource in
conformance with the federal fishery regulations as recommended by
the Pacific Fishery Management Council and as adopted by the
Secretary of Commerce.
  SEC. 7.  Section 8150.8 of the Fish and Game Code is repealed.
  SEC. 8.  Section 8150.9 of the Fish and Game Code is repealed.
  SEC. 9.  Section 8151 of the Fish and Game Code is repealed.
  SEC. 10.  Section 8152 of the Fish and Game Code is repealed.
  SEC. 10.5.  Section 8394.5 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to
read:
   8394.5.  The fee for the permit issued pursuant to Section 8394 is
three hundred thirty dollars ($330).  This permit fee does not apply
to the holder of a valid drift gill net shark and swordfish permit
required under Article 16 (commencing with Section 8560) of Chapter
2.
  SEC. 11.  Section 8410 of the Fish and Game Code is repealed.
  SEC. 12.  Section 8411 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to
read:
   8411.  The department shall manage the Pacific mackerel resource
in conformance with the federal fishery regulations as recommended by
the Pacific Fishery Management Council and as adopted by the
Secretary of Commerce.
  SEC. 13.  Section 8412 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to
read:
   8412.  Pacific mackerel may be taken under a revocable
nontransferable permit issued by the department to boat owners or
operators under conditions prescribed by the department.
  SEC. 14.  Section 8413 of the Fish and Game Code is repealed.
  SEC. 15.  Section 8414 of the Fish and Game Code is repealed.
  SEC. 16.  Section 8415 of the Fish and Game Code is repealed.
  SEC. 17.  Section 8550.5 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to
read:
   8550.5.  (a) A herring net permit granting the privilege to take
herring with nets for commercial purposes shall be issued to licensed
commercial fishermen, subject to regulations adopted under Section
8550, as follows:
   (1) To any resident of this state to use gill nets, upon payment
of a fee of two hundred sixty-five dollars ($265).
   (2) To any nonresident to use gill nets, upon payment of a fee of
one thousand dollars ($1,000).
   (b) The commission shall not require a permit for a person to be a
crewmember on a vessel taking herring pursuant to this article.
  SEC. 18.  Section 8552.8 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to
read:
   8552.8.  (a) For purposes of this article, the experience points
for a person engaged in the herring roe fishery shall be based on the
number of years holding a commercial fishing license and the number
of years having served as a crewmember in the herring roe fishery,
and determined by the sum of both of the following:
   (1) One point for each year in the previous 12 years (prior to the
current license year) that the person has held a commercial fishing
license issued pursuant to Section 7852, not to exceed a maximum of
10 points.
   (2) Five points for one year of service as a paid crewmember in
the herring roe fishery, as determined pursuant to Section 8559,
three points for a second year of service as a paid crewmember, and
two points for a third year as a paid crewmember, beginning with the
1978-79 herring fishing season, not to exceed a maximum of 10 points.

   (b) The department shall maintain a list of all individuals
possessing the maximum of 20 experience points and of all those
persons holding two points or more, grouped in a list by number of
points.  The list shall be maintained annually and shall be available
from the department to all pointholders and to all herring
permittees.  All pointholders are responsible for providing the
department with their current address and for verifying points
credited to them by the department.
   (c) A herring permittee may use the department's list and rely
upon that list  in making offers for transfer of his or her permit
until the date of the annual distribution of the new list.  On and
after the date of the annual revision of the list, the permittee
shall use the new list.
   (d) The point provisions in this section are for purposes of sale
of a permit or transfer to a partner of a coowned permit.
  SEC. 19.  Section 8664.65 of the Fish and Game Code is repealed.
  SEC. 20.  Section 11019 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to
read:
   11019.  The following constitutes Fish and Game District 11:
   The waters and tidelands of San Francisco Bay to high-water mark
bounded as follows:  Beginning at the extreme westerly point of Point
Bonita; thence in a direct line to the extreme westerly point of
Point Lobos; thence around the shore line of San Francisco Bay to the
foot of Powell Street; thence in a direct line northwesterly to
Peninsula Point, the most southerly extremity of Belvedere Island;
thence in a direct line westerly to the easternmost point of the
ferry dock at Sausalito; thence southerly and westerly around the
shore of San Francisco Bay to the point of beginning.
  SEC. 21.  Section 12002.3 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to
read:
   12002.3.  (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a
violation of Section 7121 for the sale, purchase, or receipt of fish
taken by a person required to be licensed pursuant to Section 7145 is
punishable by a fine of not less than two thousand dollars ($2,000)
or more than seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500), except as
provided in subdivisions (b) and (c).
   (b) If the violation in question involved the illegal sale or
purchase of abalone taken by a person required to be licensed
pursuant to Section 7145, the violation is punishable by a fine of
not less than fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) or more than forty
thousand dollars ($40,000).
   (c) If the violation in question involved a person who knowingly
purchased or received for commercial purposes, fish taken by a person
required to be licensed pursuant to Section 7145, the violation is
punishable by a fine of not less than seven thousand five hundred
dollars ($7,500) or more than fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).
  SEC. 22.  Section 12006.6 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to
read:
   12006.6.  Notwithstanding Section 12000 or 12002.8, and in
addition to Section 12009, and notwithstanding the type of fishing
license or permit held, if any person is convicted of a violation of
Section 5521 or 5521.5, and the offense occurs in an area closed to
the taking of abalone for commercial purposes, and the person takes
or possesses more than 12 abalone at one time or more than 100
abalone during a calendar year, that person shall be punished by all
of the following:
   (a)  A fine of not less than fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) or
more than forty thousand dollars ($40,000).
   (b) The court shall order the department to permanently revoke,
and the department shall permanently revoke, the commercial fishing
license and any commercial fishing permits of that person.  The
person punished under this subdivision shall not, thereafter, be
eligible for any license or permit to take or possess fish for sport
or commercial purposes, including, but not limited to, a commercial
fishing license or a sport fishing or sport ocean fishing license.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the commercial license or
permit of a person arrested for a violation punishable under this
section may not be sold, transferred, loaned, leased, or used as
security for any financial transaction until disposition of the
charges is final.
   (c) Any vessel, diving or other fishing gear or apparatus, or
vehicle used in the commission of an offense punishable under this
section shall be seized, and shall be ordered forfeited in the same
manner prescribed for nets or traps used in violation of this code,
as described in Article 3 (commencing with Section 8630) of Chapter
3, or in the manner prescribed in Section 12157.
   (d) Not less than 50 percent of the revenue deposited in the Fish
and Game Preservation Fund from fines and forfeitures collected
pursuant to this section shall be allocated for the support of the
Special Operations Unit of the Wildlife Protection Division of the
department and used for law enforcement purposes.
  SEC. 23.  Section 12009 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to
read:
   12009.  (a) Notwithstanding Section 12000, and except as provided
in Section 12006.6, the punishment for a violation of any provision
of Section 5521 or 5521.5, or any regulation adopted pursuant
thereto, or of Section 7121 involving abalone, is a fine of not less
than fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) or more than forty thousand
dollars ($40,000) and imprisonment in the county jail for a period
not to exceed one year.  The court shall permanently revoke any
commercial fishing license, commercial fishing permit, or sport
fishing license issued by the department.  Any vessel, diving or
other fishing gear or apparatus, or vehicle used in the commission of
an offense punishable under this section,  may be seized and may be
ordered forfeited by the court pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section
12157.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the commercial
license of any person arrested for a violation punishable under this
section may not be sold, transferred, loaned, or leased, or used as
security for any financial transaction until disposition of the
charges is final.
   (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the money
collected from any fine or forfeiture imposed or collected for the
taking of abalone for any purpose other than for profit in violation
of this article or any other provision of law shall be deposited as
follows:
   (1) One-half in the Abalone Restoration and Preservation Account.

   (2) One-half in the county treasury of the county in which the
violation occurred.
  SEC. 24.  Section 12157 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to
read:
   12157.  (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), the judge
before whom any person is tried for a violation of any provision of
this code, or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, may, upon the
conviction of the person tried, order the forfeiture of any device or
apparatus that is designed to be, or is capable of being, used to
take birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, or amphibia and that was used in
committing the offense charged.
   (b) The judge shall, if the offense is punishable under Section
12008 of this code or under subdivision (c) of Section 597 of the
Penal Code, order the forfeiture of any device or apparatus that is
used in committing the offense, including, but not limited to, any
vehicle that is used or intended for use in delivering, importing, or
exporting any unlawfully taken, imported, or purchased species.
   (c) (1) The judge may, for conviction of a violation of either of
the following offenses, order forfeiture of any device or apparatus
that is used in committing the offense, including, but not limited
to, any vehicle used or intended for use in committing the offense:
   (A) Section 2000 relating to deer, elk, antelope, feral pigs,
European wild boars, black bears, and brown or cinnamon bears.
   (B) Any offense that involves the sale, purchase, or possession of
abalone for commercial purposes.
   (2) In considering an order of forfeiture under this subdivision,
the court shall take into consideration the nature, circumstances,
extent, and gravity of the prohibited act committed, the degree of
culpability of the violator, the property proposed for forfeiture,
and other criminal or civil penalties imposed on the violator under
other provisions of law for that offense. The court shall impose
lesser forfeiture penalties under this subdivision for those acts
that have little significant effect upon natural resources or the
property of another and greater forfeiture penalties for those acts
that may cause serious injury to natural resources or the property of
another, as determined by the court.  In determining whether or not
to order forfeiture of a vehicle, the court shall, in addition to any
other relevant factor, consider whether the defendant is the owner
of the vehicle and whether the owner of the vehicle had knowledge of
the violation.
   (3) It is the intent of the Legislature that forfeiture not be
ordered pursuant to this subdivision for minor or inadvertent
violations of Section 2000, as determined by the court.
   (d) Any device or apparatus ordered forfeited shall be sold, used,
or destroyed by the department.
   (e) (1) The proceeds from all sales under this section, after
payment of any valid liens on the forfeited property, shall be paid
into the Fish and Game Preservation Fund.
   (2) A lien in which the lienholder is a conspirator is not a valid
lien for purposes of this subdivision.
   (f) The provisions in this section authorizing or requiring a
judge to order the forfeiture of a device or apparatus also apply to
the judge, referee, or traffic hearing officer in a juvenile court
action brought under Section 258 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code.
   (g) For purposes of this section, a plea of nolo contendere or no
contest, or forfeiture of bail, constitutes a conviction.
   (h) Neither the disposition of the criminal action other than by
conviction nor the discretionary refusal of the judge to order
forfeiture upon conviction impairs the right of the department to
commence proceedings to order the forfeiture of fish nets or traps
pursuant to Section 8630.
  SEC. 25.  Notwithstanding Section 17610 of the Government Code, if
the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains
costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and
school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7
(commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the
Government Code.  If the statewide cost of the claim for
reimbursement does not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000),
reimbursement shall be made from the State Mandates Claims Fund.
